Primark is the latest chain to confirm it has no plans to open a store in Darlington's Binns building.

Last week, Frasers Group announced that House of Fraser would be closing on High Row later this year after more than 100 years in town. 

The department store firm said the closure was due to the landlord terminating the lease - with the site expected to close its doors in late November. 

Last night, The Northern Echo revealed Marks and Spencer would not be taking over the store, with rumours online that it would be moving in proven false. 

Closing down signs on Binns in DarlingtonClosing down signs on Binns in Darlington (Image: PAUL NORRIS)

We can now reveal that Primark - which already has a store in the Cornmill Shopping Centre - is the latest to confirm it has "no current plans" to open a new store in the Binns building.

A spokesperson said: "We love to hear that people would like to have a Primark store near them.

"As a growing business, we're always looking for new opportunities for store locations, however, we can't comment on speculation about where we might open next."

Primark said there are 'no plans' to open in the Binns buildingPrimark said there are 'no plans' to open in the Binns building (Image: Press Association Images)

Speculation about the future of Binns has been rife since its closure was announced last week, with several big-name brands being thrown into the rumour mill. 

It is understood that several potential buyers have shown interest in the site, but that no deal has been agreed as of yet. 

The building - which was put on sale for £1m in July by its owners, who are understood to be Arab investors - remains on the market. 

Over the weekend, Darlington Council chief executive Ian Williams all but ruled out the council putting in a bid to buy the building, having previously used Government ‘towns fund’ money to buy buildings such as The Echo's former Priestgate headquarters.

Mr Williams said: “The towns fund is nearing completion and projects approved by the last government are progressing. In the towns fund, there’s not a lot of money left in that for us.

“We haven’t got the luxury of using that to buy the buildings. As to whether there’s any future government money, who knows?

“You would have to do your own due diligence. There’s no point acquiring a building if you have no funds to do justice to that building.”

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A full statement from Frasers said: “It is with regret that we announce House of Fraser Darlington will be closing in December 2024, due to the landlord's decision to terminate the lease as they require the unit back before Christmas.

"Our customers can continue to shop the world’s most aspirational brands at Frasers.com, or access more brands from the Group’s ecosystem at Sports Direct Darlington and FLANNELS Darlington at the Cornmill Shopping Centre. 

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their hard work and dedication. Where possible, we are committed to finding new roles within the group for staff.”